§8castra uero ingressus nihil cuiquam poscenti negauit atque etiam ultro ignominiosis notas, reis sordes, damnatis supplicia dempsit.
Having entered the camp, he denied nothing to anyone who asked, and even of his own accord removed marks from the ignominious, sordid clothes from the accused, and punishments from the condemned.
quare uixdum mense transacto, neque diei neque temporis ratione habita, ac iam uespere, subito a militibus e cubiculo raptus, ita ut erat in ueste domestica, imperator est consalutatus circumlatusque per celeberrimos uicos, strictum Diui Iuli gladium tenens detractum delubro Martis atque in prima gratulatione porrectum sibi a quodam.
Therefore, before a month had scarcely passed, with no regard paid to either the day or the time, and indeed already in the evening, he was suddenly snatched by the soldiers from his bedroom, just as he was in his domestic clothes, and was saluted as emperor and carried around through the busiest streets, holding the drawn sword of the Deified Julius, which had been taken from the temple of Mars and presented to him by someone during the first congratulations.
nec ante in praetorium rediit quam flagrante triclinio ex conceptu camini, cum quidem consternatis et quasi omine aduerso anxiis omnibus: 'bono,' inquit, 'animo estote! nobis adluxit,' nullo sermone alio apud milites usus.
Nor did he return to the praetorium until the dining room caught fire from the chimney, and indeed when everyone was terrified and anxious as if at a bad omen, he said: "Be of good courage! Light has shone upon us," having used no other speech before the soldiers.
consentiente deinde etiam superioris prouinciae exercitu, qui prior a Galba ad senatum defecerat, cognomen Germanici delatum ab uniuersis cupide recepit, Augusti distulit, Caesaris in perpetuum recusauit.
Then, when the army of the upper province, which had previously defected from Galba to the senate, also agreed, he eagerly accepted the surname of Germanicus offered by everyone, deferred that of Augustus, and refused that of Caesar forever.
§9ac subinde caede Galbae adnuntiata, compositis Germanicis rebus, partitus est copias, quas aduersus Othonem praemitteret quasque ipse perduceret.
And immediately after the death of Galba was announced, having settled the affairs of Germany, he divided his forces, sending some ahead against Otho and leading others himself.
praemisso agmine laetum euenit auspicium, siquidem a parte dextra repente aquila aduolauit lustratisque signis ingressos uiam sensim antecessit.
When the advance guard was sent ahead, a joyful omen occurred, since an eagle suddenly flew from the right side and, having circled the standards, slowly preceded them as they entered upon their way.
at contra ipso mouente statuae equestres, cum plurifariam ei ponerentur, fractis repente cruribus pariter corruerunt, et laurea, quam religiosissime circumdederat, in profluentem excidit; mox Viennae pro tribunali iura reddenti gallinaceus supra umerum ac deinde in capite astitit.
But on the other hand, when he himself set out, the equestrian statues, although they were being set up for him in many places, suddenly fell down together with their legs broken, and the laurel crown, which he had most reverently placed around his head, fell into a running stream; soon at Vienna, as he was administering justice before the tribunal, a cock perched upon his shoulder and then upon his head.
quibus ostentis par respondit exitus; nam confirmatum per legatos suos imperium per se retinere non potuit.
To these portents a corresponding end answered; for he could not retain by himself the empire which had been established by his legates.
§10De Betriacensi uictoria et Othonis exitu, cum adhuc in Gallia esset, audiit nihilque cunctatus, quicquid praetorianarum cohortium fuit, ut pessimi exempli, uno exauctorauit edicto iussas tribunis tradere arma.
He heard of the victory at Betriacum and the death of Otho while he was still in Gaul, and without delaying at all, by a single edict he discharged all of the praetorian cohorts, as being of a most pernicious example, ordering them to hand over their arms to the tribunes.
centum autem atque uiginti, quorum libellos Othoni datos inuenerat exposcentium praemium ob editam in caede Galbae operam, conquiri et supplicio adfici imperauit, egregie prorsus atque magnifice et ut summi principis spem ostenderet, nisi cetera magis ex natura et priore uita sua quam ex imperii maiestate gessisset.
Moreover, he ordered one hundred and twenty of them, whose petitions given to Otho he had found, demanding a reward for their service rendered in the slaughter of Galba, to be searched out and punished, which was indeed noble and magnificent, and such as to show hope of a supreme prince, if he had not managed other things more according to his own nature and his former life than according to the majesty of the empire.
namque itinere incohato per medias ciuitates ritu triumphantium uectus est perque flumina delicatissimis nauigiis et uariarum coronarum genere redimitis, inter profusissimos obsoniorum apparatus, nulla familiae aut militis disciplina, rapinas ac petulantiam omnium in iocum uertens, qui non contenti epulo ubique publice praebito, quoscumque libuisset in libertatem asserebant, uerbera et plagas, saepe uulnera, nonnumquam necem repraesentantes aduersantibus.
For having begun his journey, he was carried through the middle of the cities in the manner of those triumphing, and through the rivers in most luxurious vessels adorned with various kinds of crowns, amidst most lavish preparations of provisions, with no discipline of his household or of the soldiers, turning the plundering and insolence of everyone into a joke; and they, not content with the feast publicly provided everywhere, claimed as free whomever they pleased, bringing whips and blows, often wounds, and sometimes death upon those who opposed them.
utque campos, in quibus pugnatum est, adit, abhorrentis quosdam cadauerum tabem detestabili uoce confirmare ausus est, optime olere occisum hostem et melius ciuem.
And when he came to the fields in which the battle had been fought, he dared to declare with a detestable voice to some who were shrinking from the stench of the corpses, that a slain enemy smelled very well, and a citizen even better.
nec eo setius ad leniendam grauitatem odoris plurimum meri propalam hausit passimque diuisit.
Nevertheless, to alleviate the heaviness of the odor, he openly drank a great deal of unmixed wine and distributed it everywhere.
pari uanitate atque insolentia lapidem memoriae Othonis inscriptum intuens dignum eo Mausoleo ait, pugionemque, quo is se occiderat, in Agrippinensem coloniam misit Marti dedicandum.
With equal vanity and insolence, looking at the stone inscribed to the memory of Otho, he said it was worthy of such a mausoleum, and sent the dagger with which Otho had killed himself to the Agrippinensian colony to be dedicated to Mars.
in Appennini quidem iugis etiam peruigilium egit.
On the ridges of the Apennines he even held a night-long festival.
§11urbem denique ad classicum introiit paludatus ferroque succinctus, inter signa atque uexilla, sagulatis comitibus ac detectis commilitonum armis.
Finally, he entered the city to the sound of the trumpet, clad in a general's cloak and girt with a sword, among standards and banners, with his companions in military cloaks and the arms of his fellow soldiers uncovered.
Magis deinde ac magis omni diuino humanoque iure neglecto Alliensi die pontificatum maximum cepit, comitia in decem annos ordinauit seque perpetuum consulem.
Then, more and more neglecting all divine and human law, he assumed the office of pontifex maximus on the day of the Allia, arranged the elections for ten years, and made himself perpetual consul.
et ne cui dubium foret, quod exemplar regendae rei p. eligeret, medio Martio campo adhibita publicorum sacerdotum frequentia inferias Neroni dedit ac sollemni conuiuio citharoedum placentem palam admonuit, ut aliquid et de dominico diceret, incohantique Neroniana cantica primus exultans etiam plausit.
And so that no one should doubt what model of ruling the republic he was choosing, having gathered a crowd of public priests in the middle of the Campus Martius, he offered funeral sacrifices to Nero, and at a solemn banquet openly urged a favorite citharist to sing something from the master's songs, and as he began the songs of Nero, he was the first to leap up and applaud.